2005 MERCEDES-BENZ CLK500 CABRIOLET warning

58 Getting startedParking and locking
1Lock button on the door handle

After exiting the vehicle, press lock
button1 on the door handle or on the
trunk lid.
With the hood, trunk and both doors
closed, all turn signal lamps flash three
times. The locking knobs in the doors
move down. The anti-theft alarm sys-
tem is armed.
For more information, see “Locking and
unlocking” (
page 94).
!If you hear a warning signal you have
either

forgotten to switch off the vehicle’s
exterior lamps before opening the
driver’s door, or


tried to turn off the engine while the
gear selector lever is not inP.
Turn off the lights or place the gear se-
lector lever inP.
iOpening a door causes the windows on
that side of the car to open slightly.
They will return to the up position when
the door is closed.
Warning!
G
To prevent possible personal injury, always
keep hands and fingers away from the door
openings when closing the doors. Be espe-
cially careful when small children are
around.
Before closing doors, make sure there is no
possibility of someone getting caught in a
door during closing.
Warning!
G
When leaving the vehicle, always remove the
SmartKey or SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO*
from the starter switch, take it with you, and
lock the vehicle. Do not leave children unat-
tended in the vehicle, or with access to an
unlocked vehicle. Unsupervised use of vehi-
cle equipment may cause an accident
and/or serious personal injury.


61 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Air bags
Warning!
G
In the event that the 1indicator lamp
comes on during driving or does not come
on at all, the SRS self-check has detected a
malfunction. For your safety, we strongly
recommend that you visit an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center immediately to have
the system checked; otherwise the SRS may
not deploy when needed in an accident,
which could result in serious or fatal injury,
or it might deploy unexpectedly and unnec-
essarily which could also result in injury.
In addition, improper repair work on the SRS
creates a risk of rendering the SRS inopera-
tive or causing unintended air bag deploy-
ment. Work on the SRS must therefore only
be performed by qualified technicians. Con-
tact an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
If it is necessary to modify an air bag system
to accommodate a person with disabilities,
contact your local authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center or call our Customer
Assistance Center at 1-800-FOR-MERCedes
(1-800-367-6372) for details.
Warning!
G
Air bags are designed to reduce the poten-
tial of injury and fatality in certain frontal im-
pacts (front air bags) or side impacts
(head-thorax air bags and rear side-impact
air bags). However, no system available to-
day can totally eliminate injuries and
fatalities.
The deployment of the air bags temporarily
releases a small amount of dust from the air
bags. This dust, however, is neither injurious
to your health, nor does it indicate a fire in
the vehicle. The dust might cause some tem-
porary breathing difficulty for people with
asthma or other breathing trouble. To avoid
this, you may wish to get out of the vehicle
as soon as it is safe to do so. If you have any
breathing difficulty but cannot get out of the
vehicle after the air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.

62 Safety and SecurityOccupant safetyWarning!
G
To reduce the risk of injury when the front
air bags inflate, it is very important for the
driver and front passenger to always be in a
properly seated position and to wear their
respective seat belts.
For maximum protection in the event of a
collision always be in normal seated position
with your back against the backrest. Fasten
your seat belt and make sure that it is prop-
erly positioned on your body.
Since the air bag inflates with considerable
speed and force, a proper seating and hands
on steering wheel position will help to keep
you at a safe distance from the air bag.
Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the air bag can be seriously
injured by an air bag as it inflates with great
force in the blink of an eye:

Sit properly belted in a nearly upright
position with your back against the seat
backrest.


Adjust the driver’s seat as far as possi-
ble rearward, still permitting proper op-
eration of vehicle controls. The distance
from the center of the driver’s breast-
bone to the center of the air bag cover
on the steering wheel must be at least
ten inches (25 cm) or more. You should
be able to accomplish this by a combina-
tion of adjustments to the seat and
steering wheel. If you have any prob-
lems, please see an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.


Do not lean your head or chest close to
the steering wheel or dashboard.


Keep hands on the outside of steering
wheel rim. Placing hands and arms in-
side the rim can increase the risk and
potential severity of hand/arm injury
when driver’s front air bag inflates.


Adjust the front passenger seat as far as
possible rearward from the dashboard
when the seat is occupied.


Occupants, especially children, should
never place their bodies or lean their
heads in the area of the door or the rear
side trim panel where the head-thorax
and rear side-impact air bags inflates.
This could result in serious injuries or
death should the air bag be triggered. Al-
ways sit nearly upright, properly use the
seat belts and use an appropriately
sized infant or toddler restraint or
booster seat recommended for the size
and weight of the child.
Failure to follow these instructions can re-
sult in severe injuries to you or other occu-
pants.
If you sell your vehicle, it is important that
you make the buyer aware of this safety in-
formation. Be sure to give the buyer this Op-
erator's Manual.

63 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Warning!
G
Accident research shows that the safest
place for children in an automobile is in the
rear seat.
It should be noted that with respect to both
front and rear side impact air bags there is a
possibility for a side impact air bag related
injury if occupants, especially children, are
not properly seated or restrained when next
to a front head-thorax air bag or a rear side
impact air bag which needs to deploy rapidly
in a side impact in order to do its job.
To help avoid the possibility of injury, please
follow these guidelines:
(1) Occupants, especially children, should
never place their bodies or lean their
heads in the area of the door or the rear
side trim panel where the front
head-thorax or rear side-impact air bag
inflates. This could result in serious inju-
ries or death should the front
head-thorax air bag or rear side-impact
air bag be deployed.
(2) Always sit nearly upright, properly use
the seat belts and for children 12 years
old and under, use an appropriately
sized infant or toddler restraint or
booster seat recommended for the size
and weight of the child.
(3) Always wear seat belts properly.
If you believe that, even with the use of
these guidelines, it would be safer for your
rear seat occupants to have the rear mount-
ed side impact air bags deactivated, then
deactivation can be accomplished upon
your written request to do so at an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center at an
additional cost.
Please contact your local authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center or call our Customer
Assistance Center at 1-800-FOR-MERCedes
(1-800-367-6372) for details.
iAir bags are designed to deploy only in
certain frontal impacts (front air bags),
and in side impacts (head-thorax air
bags and rear side-impact air bags)
which exceed preset thresholds. Only
during these events will they provide
their supplemental protection.
The driver and passengers should al-
ways wear their seat belts. Otherwise it
is not possible for the air bags to pro-
vide their supplemental protection.
In case of other types of impacts and
impacts below air bag deployment
thresholds, air bags will not deploy. The
driver and passenger will then be pro-
tected to the extent possible by a prop-
erly fastened seat belt. A properly
fastened seat belt is also needed to
provide the best possible protection in
a rollover.

64 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
Safety guidelines for the seat belt,
emergency tensioning device and
air bag We caution you not to rely on the pres-
ence of the air bags in order to avoid
wearing your seat belt.
It is important to your safety and that of
your passengers that you replace de-
ployed air bags and repair any malfunc-
tioning air bags to make sure that the
vehicle will continue to provide supple-
mental crash protection for occupants.Warning!
G


Damaged seat belts or belts that were
highly stressed in an accident must be
replaced and their anchoring points
must also be checked. Only use belts in-
stalled or supplied by an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.


Air bags and emergency tensioning de-
vices (ETDs) are designed to function on
a one-time-only basis. An air bag or ETD
that is deployed must be replaced.


Do not pass belts over sharp edges.
They could tear.


Do not make any modification that could
change the effectiveness of the belts.


Do not bleach or dye seat belts as this
may severely weaken them. In a crash
they may not be able to provide ade-
quate protection.


No modifications of any kind may be
made to any components or wiring of
the SRS. This includes changing or re-
moving any component or part of the
SRS, the installation of additional trim
material, seat covers, badges, etc. over
the steering wheel hub, passenger front
air bag cover, front seat backrests or
rear side trim panels, and installation of
additional electrical/electronic equip-
ment on or near SRS components and
wiring. Keep area between air bags and
occupants free from objects (e.g. pack-
ages, purses, umbrellas, etc.).


Air bag system components will be hot
after an air bag has inflated. Do not
touch.


Never place your feet on the instrument
panel, dashboard, or on the seat. Always
keep both feet on the floor in front of the
seat.

65 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
When you sell your vehicle, we strongly
urge you to give notice to the subsequent
owner that it is equipped with an SRS by
alerting them to the applicable section in
the Operator’s Manual.Front air bags
1Driver air bag
2Passenger air bag
Driver and front passenger front air bags
are deployed:


in the event of certain frontal impacts


if impact exceeds a preset deployment
threshold


independently of the side impact air
bags


In addition, improper repair work on the
SRS creates a risk of rendering the SRS
inoperative or causing unintended air
bag deployment. Work on the SRS must
therefore only be performed by qualified
technicians. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.


For your protection and the protection
of others, when scrapping the air bag
unit or emergency tensioning device,
our safety instructions must be fol-
lowed. These instructions are available
from your authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center.


Given the considerable deployment
speed, required inflation volume, and
the textile structure of the air bags,
there is the possibility of abrasions or
other more significant injuries resulting
from air bag deployment.
Warning!
G
Only use seat covers which have been
tested and approved by Mercedes-Benz for
your vehicle model. Using other seat covers
may interfere with or prevent the
deployment of the head-thorax air bags.
Contact your authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center for availability.

67 Safety and Security
Occupant safety
Rear side-impact air bags
1Rear side-impact air bag
The rear side-impact air bags1 are de-
ployed:

on the impacted side of the vehicle


in impacts exceeding a preset deploy-
ment threshold


independently of the front air bags
The rear side-impact air bags1 are not
deployed in impacts which do not exceed
the system’s deployment threshold.
Seat belts
When the engine is started, the seat belt
telltale < illuminates to remind you and
your passengers to fasten your seat belts.
If the driver’s seat belt is not fastened be-
fore the engine is started, the seat belt
telltale < illuminates and a warning
chime sounds for approximately six sec-
onds when the engine is started.
The use of seat belts and infant and child
restraint systems is required by law in all
50 states, the District of Columbia, the
U.S. territories and all Canadian provinces.
Even where this is not the case, all vehicle
occupants should have their seat belts fas-
tened whenever the vehicle is in motion.
For more information, see “Fastening the
seat belts” (
page 43).
Warning!
G
Only use seat covers which have been
tested and approved by Mercedes-Benz for
your vehicle model. Using other seat covers
may interfere with or prevent the
deployment of the head-thorax air bags.
Contact your authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center for availability.

68 Safety and SecurityOccupant safety
iFor information on infants and children
traveling with you in the vehicle and
restraint systems for infants and
children, see “Children in the vehicle”
(page 72).
Warning!
G
Always fasten your seat belt before driving
off. Always make sure all of your passengers
are properly restrained, even those sitting in
the rear and pregnant women.
Failure to wear and properly fasten and po-
sition your seat belt greatly increases your
risk of injuries and their likely severity in an
accident. You and your passengers should
always wear seat belts.
If you are ever in an accident, your injuries
can be considerably more severe without
your seat belt properly buckled. Without
your seat belt buckled, you are much more
likely to hit the interior of the vehicle or be
ejected from it. You can be seriously injured
or killed.
In the same crash, the possibility of injury or
death is lessened if you are properly wearing
your seat belt. Air bags can only protect as
they are designed if the occupants are prop-
erly wearing their seat belts.
Warning!
G
Never ride in a moving vehicle with the seat
backrest in an excessively reclined position
as this can be dangerous. You could slide
under the seat belt in a collision. If you slide
under it, the belt would apply force at the ab-
domen or neck. That could cause serious or
even fatal injuries. The seat backrest and
seat belt provide the best restraint when the
wearer is in a nearly upright position and the
belt is properly positioned on the body.Warning!
G
Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are seat belts available. Make
sure everyone riding in the vehicle is cor-
rectly restrained with a separate seat belt.
Never use a seat belt for more than one
person at a time.